While some towns cannot boast of having any movie screenings available to them, West Windsor not only has a 10-screen theater but also two film festivals beginning this fall. West Windsor Arts Council film series, “Large Events Through Small Eyes,” begins on Saturday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m., at the West Windsor Library. Congregation Beth Chaim’s Jewish Film Series begins on Saturday, November 4, at the synagogue.
The first of three film events in the Arts Council series features “Machuca,” a prize-winning Chilean film released in 2004, co-written and directed by Andres Wood.
“As reflected in the series’ theme, each film grapples with a major societal upheaval, as it portrays the lives and perspectives of children and youth growing up in the midst of violence and uncertain circumstances,” says Elane Gutterman, film series coordinator. Refreshments and discussion follow the screening.
Wood lived through the traumatic era that shapes the film’s context, including the fall of the populist government of Salvatore Allende and rise of Auguste Pinochet’s military dictatorship. From the innocent perspective of schoolboys, he portrays the friendship between two classmates who reach beyond the gulf between the society’s haves and have nots. Although the story is not autobiographical, Wood has told reporters that “90 percent of what you see either happened to me, my friends, my classmates, or my neighbors.” The film, a featured selection at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, featured young actors Matias Quer, Ariel Mateluna, and Manuela Martelli.
Speaking at the Arts Council screening will be Carlo Momo, Princeton-based restaurateur, who lived in Chile in 1975 — just after the coup. He brings the perspective of a youth who spent time in Chile shortly after the fall of the Allende government.
Momo, who was born in Brazil to a Chilean father and Italian mother and was raised in the Bronx, was sent to Chile in 1975 for his senior year of high school. “It was very much a military state,” he recalls. “People were afraid to say anything. There was a curfew when I arrived, starting at about 3 or 4 p.m., and no one went outside after that.” Once, Momo stayed out late for basketball practice and was stopped by military personnel.
“People were afraid to share opinions,” he recollects. Families were divided by differing political views. “Growing up, I would hear a little of everything,” he says. “There were conversations that were positive about the military coup. Chile had been a mess leading up to the coup, with rationing, food lines, and shortages of all kinds.
“It affected lower middle class families, like my aunt’s. When the coup occurred, they had access to basic services. But by the time I got there, there were also abuses.”
2006 Film Series, West Windsor Arts Council, West Windsor Library, North Post Road, West Windsor, 609-919-1982. www.westwindsorarts.org. The second film in the WWAC series, “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress,” written and directed by Dai Sijie will be shown in January. Refreshments. Free. Saturday, October 21, 7:30 p.m.
Jewish Film Series, Congregation Beth Chaim, 329 Village Road East, West Windsor, 609-799-9401. www.bethchaim.org. Screening of “Everything is Illuminated.” Three-part film series featuring film, round table discussion, and dessert. Register. Donations welcome. Saturday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.
Screening of “Paradise Now” followed by a round table discussion and dessert. Register. Donations welcome. Saturday, December 9, 7:30 p.m.
Screening of “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” followed by a round table discussion and dessert. Register. Donations welcome. Saturday, February 24, 7:30 p.m.
